The main tourism update on Day 4 of the Iran War surrounds repatriation flights and the risky task of getting holidaymakers out of the danger zones around the Middle East.
The Irish Government has begun looking at means of catering for the estimated 22,000 Irish citizens currently visiting or living in the Middle East region. Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee has suggested the Government will charter flights – if necessary – to repatriate Irish citizens, while the Government is also co-ordinating with its EU partners about how to prepare a consolidated regional evacuation response.
Emirates has said that all of its scheduled commercial flights to and from Dubai remain suspended, pending updates on Wednesday, as airspace around the region remains closed off. However, Emirates has begun and is continuing a limited number of passenger repatriation flights, and freighter flights, today. In a statement, Emirates said: “We are accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority on these limited flights. Please do not go to the airport [Dubai] unless you have been notified directly by Emirates, or hold a confirmed booking for these flights. Emirates continues to monitor the situation, and we will develop our operational schedule accordingly.”
Qatar Airways has said all of its flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace. The airline said it will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of the country’s airspace. Qatar Airways said it will provide a further update on operations on Wednesday.
Etihad Airways has said that all of its scheduled commercial flights to and from Abu Dhabi remain suspended (until at least 2pm UAE time on Thursday). Some repositioning, cargo and repatriation flights may operate in co-ordination with UAE authorities and subject to strict operational and safety approvals, it added. Etihad added: “Guests should not travel to the airport [Abu Dhabi] unless they have been contacted directly by Etihad and advised to do so. Access to the airport will be restricted for those without confirmed travel documentation.”
Holiday giant TUI has said it is working closely with partner airlines and relevant authorities to organise return travel as quickly and smoothly as possible. It will also consider flying its own planes into the Middle East despite not commercially flying there. “At the same time, we are fully prepared to operate special flights with our own TUI aircraft to support our guests’ return, even though we do not usually operate in this region. This would require the necessary governmental approvals and co-ordination, and therefore a specific start date has not yet been confirmed,” TUI said.
Iranian drone activity in Cyprus has resulted in the likes of EasyJet grounding flights at Larnaca Airport; and Paphos Airport being totally evacuated – a move which will ground thousands of passengers of the likes of Ryanair, EasyJet, TUI, British Airways and Jet2.com.
Ryanair has said its current priority in the Middle East is to repatriate passengers from Jordan, where it flies to from mainland Europe. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has also said the airline has seen a temporary collapse in Middle Eastern bookings and a surge in short-haul European destination bookings.
